


Evocation of the King

by Phantom_of_the_Frost



Series: Summoning Circles [1]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Churches & Cathedrals, Dark Magic, Ghost King Danny Fenton, Ghost Zone (Danny Phantom), Ghosts, Summoning, Summoning Circles, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 10:22:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23969800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phantom_of_the_Frost/pseuds/Phantom_of_the_Frost
Summary: The stage was finally set. They had been preparing for weeks to evoke the presence of the King of All Ghosts. However, they weren’t just summoning this diety. No, he was going to be the first of his people to bind the Ghost King.~Or, Danny is just a kid and wants to play video games, not deal with crazy people in scary black robes and magic books.
Series: Summoning Circles [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1779394
Comments: 9
Kudos: 512





	Evocation of the King

The stage was finally set. They had been preparing for weeks to evoke the presence of the King of All Ghosts. Every member of his group had been purifying themselves and steeling themselves to finally summon the powerful and feared entity. However, they weren’t just  _ summoning _ this diety. No, he was going to be the first of his people to  _ bind _ the Ghost King. No one will dare question his position or right to lead once he had an actual  _ god _ bound to him and compelled to fulfill his every command. 

Then,  _ he _ would be a god. The god that bound one of the most powerful beings that his people fear. He was almost shaking with excitement as he diligently watched his followers carefully construct the chalk circle on the floor. There were hundreds of details and spirals and symbols included to prevent the King from escape and to prepare his body to be bound to a human master. 

There was no room for error. 

His people knew this and were about as attentive as he was in ensuring that every last detail of the chalk circle was accurate and drawn to proportion. They had even gone as far as to purify the chalk multiple times in hopes it would be enough to restrain the King. 

Even if the chalk failed, however, they had thick circles of salt preventing the spirit to cross. No ghost could cross such purities, not even the King. 

Despite their multitude of precautions, everyone was still anxious about summoning the King and extorting his powers. It was a dangerous gamble, but one that was necessary for his reign to survive. You see, he too was a king, yet his people were not as loyal as they once were. There were fewer believers than ever in this century, and he needed power,  _ real _ power, in order to cement his role as ruler. He needed the King of All Ghosts to bow down to him and submit to his will to prove to his people that  _ he _ and he alone was their ruler. 

It was his destiny. 

His most loyal followers knew how necessary this was and were all willing to risk themselves for the cause. 

He took a deep and steadying breath as his people notified him that everything was prepared and they were ready to recite the incantation. 

They all took their place around the circle, kneeling to show respect to the great deity they were summoning. Just as the clock struck midnight, he leaned forward and lit his candle, pushing it between him and the circle meant to hold a king. 

The man to his right followed his actions and once he was finished, the man next to him did, until the candles were lit all around the circle, creating yet another barrier between them and the King of the Dead. 

The leader took a deep breath before starting the incantation, all of his followers joining in to create a perfect harmony, not a word out of place or mispronounced. 

Towards the end of the incantation, he leaned forward, cutting a deep gash on the palm of his hand and letting his blood flow unto the makeshift altar. As soon as the first drop of blood hit the alter, the chalk began to glow a bright blue that faded into a deep green. 

Despite the green fire burning in front of them, none of his followers missed a beat and continued with the incantation. The green fire burning along the chalk was a low flame that grew higher and hotter until it was burning almost white with power. 

His followers and he grew in volume as they recited the words and just as they reached the last verse, their hair began to stand on end as if full of static.

A deafening crack of lightening bathed the room in pure white energy and there were screams all around the room. After the light faded, the leader opened his eyes, terrified to see himself blind.

What had he gotten them all into? Part of him wanted to stop the summoning and ensure he and all of his people made it safely home, but he knew he would never forgive himself for letting his dynasty fail due to his own fear. 

He picked up the incantation and his followers gradually joined back in. Just as they finished the final verse, the room began to grow cold, despite the fire still burning tall in front of them.

He tried desperately to blink his eyes, wondering if the King was before them. His eyes were still blinded from the lightening and were still adjusting. He could smell smoke and could hear some of his younger followers gasp in fright. 

So it had worked? His eyes eventually began to focus and were drawn to the only source of light in the room. The candles had all been blown out and the fire burning the chalk had vanished. The only light was from the aura of the ghost floating in their summoning circle. 

He had done it! He couldn’t help the giddy laugh that escaped him as he rubbed at his eyes and slowly regained full vision. 

He looked back at the all-powerful King he had captured and was speechless upon finding a mere child in the King’s stead. 

“So, which one of you morons is the leader?” The apparition asked while glancing around the room, seemingly annoyed. 

All of his followers remained silent, a look of confusion written across their faces. He was dumbfounded at what could have gone wrong. Was the spell incorrect? Had they summoned the wrong ghost? Did the King send someone in their stead? He couldn’t formulate all the words he wanted to shout and spit at the embarrassment floating before him.

He had failed both himself and his people.

He opened and closed his mouth, trying to speak, but one of his younger followers beat him to it.

“A-are you the ghost king?” She asked and this only earned them a loud groan from the child as he dramatically rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. 

“Goddammit. This again?! No, I’m not. I haven’t accepted the title and therefore can’t do whatever it is you summoned me here to do,” the ghost said, eyes burning a bright green and aura shining brightly as he searched the ground. He spotted the alter with the leader’s blood coating it and turned slowly to face him. “So, you’re the asshole who concocted all of this, huh?” The ghost let himself drop to the ground before stalking to the edge of the circle. “Release me.”

The leader paused, considering. The ghost hasn’t accepted the title of king, but he  _ was  _ still the king, right? Did the child not just say that? Could he not be bound and then accept the title? 

“No. I will not release you, ghost,” he said while moving from his kneeling position to stand eye to eye with the child who floated up a few inches so they were the same height. 

“You  _ will _ release me. Dude, I was in the middle of a video game and you made me waste my last life,” the ghost pouted, looking completely unlike the king he had been imagining for the past few months. “Now I gotta start the whole level over.”

“You are the king, yes child?” He asked, stepping forward, the tattered book containing the binding incantation in hand. Perhaps it would even be easier to bind the ghost before he became king.

“Dude, I literally  _ just _ told you that I wasn’t. There is no ghost king. Not anymore, I defeated the last one. Me and like dozens of other ghosts and humans alike all helped so there is no real claim to the throne,” the child said, shrugging and staring at the scorched chalk circle beneath him. 

The leader paused, ready to question the child further on what he thought was a lie. This spell was to summon the king. Not a contender for the throne. This child was the king, whether he wanted the title or not. 

“This spell was meant to summon the King of All Ghosts. I don’t believe that you appeared by coincidence, child,” he said while stepping as close to the circle trapping the ghost as he dared.

“Stop calling me child. My name’s Phantom,” the ghost muttered without looking at him. Instead, he was intently studying the chalk underneath him before suddenly gasping. “Wait, are you trying to  _ bind  _ me? That’s a  _ huge _ no-no, my dude, like mega creepy.”

“What can you do to stop me, ghost child?” The man questioned, trying to probe the child,  _ Phantom _ , into revealing more about himself. At this, the ghost’s attention snapped towards him and his eyes glowed with intensity and anger.  _ Good. Let him get angry. It’s time he and his people saw the king for who he was. _

“You know, despite all the other summonings that I’ve endured, no one has yet been dumb enough to try and bind a  _ king _ ,” the child spat, hands glowing with green fire. 

“B-but you’re not the King. You just said that there is no king,” he said before forcing a laugh. He was terrified, but he needed this ghost to admit he  _ was _ the King. He had to be, or all of this effort was for naught. 

The child paused, before turning to address his followers. “This man will die for his disrespect. But I, unlike the last king, care for the living. If any of you want to be spared, this is your opportunity to leave,” the ghost said while floating higher in the air, hands ablaze with green fire, voice full of threat. “If you stay, your fate will be the same as  _ his.” _

The ghost referred to him as if he were already cursed before whirling back around to face him. He met the ghost’s burning eyes, refusing to acknowledge that several of his people had fled, abandoning him. 

“Your threats are pointless,” he said, laughing again. “We both know you can’t escape that circle,” he stated while faking a confident grin. He was beginning to doubt that chalk and salt would be enough. Despite his growing fear, he challenged: “Please, child, do your worst.”

With this, the fire in the ghost’s hands slowly died and he floated back to the ground with a dramatic sigh. “You didn’t have to call my bluff like that, dude. At least  _ some _ of your followers fell for it,” he said dejectedly as he tried and failed to smudge the chalk with his foot.

“Fine, so what do ya want me to do in return for releasing me?” The child uttered with an irritated huff.

“I’m going to bind your soul to mine and you will serve me until my dying breath. You will-” the man was interrupted as the child burst into a fit of laughter.

“Okay, dude. You are  _ seriously _ messed up in the head. What makes you think a binding spell will work on me?” Phantom questioned with a smug grin.

“Well, why don’t we try it out, hm, child?” He couldn’t resist grinning back at the petulant ghost before opening the spellbook that held the binding spell. He began to recite the words, feeling the power in the room grow. He tried to focus on the words and ignore the exaggerated yawns and ‘blah blah blahs’ that the child was yelling over the incantation.

As the last words of the incantation were uttered, Phantom gasped and the leader watched with a triumphant grin as the chalk began to glow an almost white blue before tracing up through the ghost to bind its core. The blue fire wound its way around the ghost and he laughed as the child cried out in fear. 

But just as soon as the fire had wrapped around the ghost, it faded, leaving nothing but the child’s aura to light the room. 

“Ha! I did it! You belong to me now, you petulant freak. Now, go accept the title as the King of All Ghosts and return here so that you may serve me!” He declared, arms outstretched and heart pounding with adrenaline.  _ He had done it! _

“Yes, sir,” the ghost mumbled with what appeared to be disgust, not meeting his new master’s eye. 

The leader stepped forward, feeling high from his victory, as he broke the salt circle and then the chalk circle caging the child. It was as if he flipped a switch. The child’s face immediately lit up in a ghoulish grin as he flew forward, grabbing the leader and pulling him upwards towards the ceiling. 

He heard his followers scream and scatter below him as he was lifted up up up and then phased  _ through _ the ceilings of the building until there were on the roof.

One instance the leader had felt victorious, and the next, he was terrified of what he had done. All confidence was gone as the ghost king roughly dropped him onto the roof of their church.

“Well, it’s good to know that I can’t be bound to a human soul. I had figured as much, although you had me worried for a minute there,” the child said as he picked absently at his fingernails as if this was something he dealt with on an everyday basis. His calm demeanor soon faded as his focus trained on the man backing away from the apparition, fear written plainly on his face.

“As for you, binding a ghost is dangerous and  _ cruel _ . It’s immensely painful and basically slavery,” the ghost spat, aura glowing bright with fury. “As the King, if I hear you attempt to bind  _ anything _ or  _ anyone _ , I will send my armies after you. Be thankful I’m not dragging you home with me. The Fright Knight has a particular hatred for those dumb enough to meddle with spirits using black magic, especially if the ghost you’re trying to mess with is his king.”

The ghost hovered for several long seconds, staring at the speechless and terrified man before him. Finally satisfied with what he saw, he turned and flew away, appearing as only a streak in the sky. The King was unassuming, but the man now knew that he was still just as powerful as initially thought. That apparition bearing the face of the child would surely be the source of nightmares for the man abandoned on the roof of the church.

**Author's Note:**

> Phew! Got that out of my system. Maybe instead of more one-shots, I'll work on the series I started.
> 
> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> Comment down below if you have any ideas for other Danny Phantom one-shot ideas!


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